The International Council on
Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) 15th General Assembly and
International Scientific Symposium will take place from October 17
to 21 in Xi'an, Shannxi
Province, announced a senior Chinese official in Beijing on
Tuesday.
According to Zhang Bai, vice director general of the State
Administration of Cultural Heritage and president of ICOMOS China,
four topics top this year's assembly agenda.
First, the ICOMOS will hold their executive committee (EXCO)
elections. The assembly meets every three years to elect the EXCO
and renew the strategic plan and program for the triennium.
Second, the assembly will pass the Xi'an Declaration, which is
currently being drafted by experts from China, Australia, Japan and
the ICOMOS Bureau.
Third, a celebration will be organized for the ICOMOS 40th
Anniversary.
Fourth, the assembly will open an International Scientific
Symposium themed "monuments and sites in their setting --
conserving cultural heritage in changing townscapes and
landscapes."
The symposium will include four sub-themes:
Section I: Defining the setting of monuments and sites -- the
significance of tangible and intangible cultural and natural
settings;
Section II: Vulnerabilities within the settings of monuments and
sites -- understanding the threats and defining appropriate
responses;
Section III: Evolving townscapes and landscapes within their
settings -- managing dynamic change; and
Section IV: Cultural routes -- the challenges of linear
settings for monuments and sites.
ICOMOS is the only international non-governmental organization
working for the conservation and protection of monuments and sites,
and is officially recognized as an advisory body to the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO),
actively contributing to the evaluation of nominations submitted by
member states for inclusion on the World Heritage List.
China joined the ICOMOS in 1993 and established the Chinese
National Committee for ICOMOS (ICOMOS China).
(China.org.cn by Unisumoon July 6, 2005)
